Tips for reading ebooks

Want to read the Salon Postisme Suite of Fictions but need a little help figuring out what to do with the ebook files so that you can read them? Let’s get you started!

Mostly the method of ebook file format and management depends on the device you plan to use–your computer, your phone, a tablet. Downloading fictions from the Salon may be a little different from your experience purchasing books from a store that has a dedicated reading device (like Amazon with the Kindle or Barnes & Noble with the Nook), but it is still easily done. And remember–reading ebooks from other sources other than bookstores demonstrates that readers aren’t dependent on the “usual suspects” to provide high quality reading material!

While I don’t claim to be an expert, here are a few suggestions:

1. If you don’t have a dedicated reader or tablet, start by using your computer or your phone to read. The easiest reader I use is Google Play–Books. You will have to set up a Google account if you don’t already have one (if you have a gmail account you can already access Google Play; just click on the checkerboard icon at the upper right corner of your screen when checked in to your email or go to https://play.google.com/store/books and then sign in to your Google account). This is an option whether you have a Mac or a PC.

2. Google Play uses the .epub version of ebooks; the .mobi format is virtually exclusive to Kindle products. So unless you use a Kindle reader (a designated device like a Fire), you should download the .epub version to your computer in a directory where you will be able to readily find it again. (There is no problem if you download both the .epub and the .mobi ebook formats; that way if you decide to try the Kindle, you have the right format of book ready to load onto the ereader.)

3. Once you are in Google Play go to Books, then to My Books. You will then upload the .epub file for the book(s) and after a moment or two, you should be all set.

4. If you use a version of Kindle, download the .mobi file for the ebook(s) in a directory where you will be able to readily find it again. You can then either email the file to your Kindle directory as described here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle/email. (Please note that the the file will store as a document rather than a book on a Kindle device and won’t show up on the Kindle ereader application on your computer.)

5. If you have a Mac and have an Apple ID, you can just double click on the .epub file for the book on your computer and iBooks will open the book for you.

There are a couple of articles that provide good summaries for downloading ebooks. Take a look at them. Note that some of them are from sites that promote their own books–no problem (but I wouldn’t contact them for support as they focus on the books they represent). The process of downloading the books is the same.